Michael E. (Eric) Hooper
Michael E. (Eric) Hooper
Mr. Hooper is the leader of the firm’s Wealth and Business Planning practice. He practices exclusively in the areas of taxation, trusts and estate planning, probate, corporate law, partnership law, mergers and acquisitions, tax exempt organizations, and nonqualified deferred compensation planning.
Areas of Practice
- Agricultural Law
- Business Law And Transactions
- Corporate Law
- Wealth And Business Planning
- Tax Planning
- Estate Litigation and Administration
- Wealth Planning
- Tax Exempt/Religious Organizations
- Employee Benefits And Executive Compensation
Education
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida
LL.M. in Taxation, 2010 - Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, Georgia
J.D., cum laude, 2009 - United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
B.S., 2000
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida
Bar Admissions
- Georgia, 2009
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, 2010
- U.S. Tax Court, 2010
Honors and Awards
- Trust and Estates Fellow for the American Bar Association
- Young Leader Award for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- “Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer” in the area of taxation by Super Lawyers
- “Legal Elite” in Georgia in the areas of trusts and estates and corporate law by Georgia Trend magazine
- Trust and Estates Fellow, Real Property, Trust and Estates Section, 2013 – 2015
- He has received several academic awards, including the Outstanding Tax Student Award and the James C. Rehberg Real Estate Award.
- His military awards include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge, among others.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Bar Association, Member
- Member of the following Committees for the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section: Business Planning Group, Estate Planning and Administration for Business Owners, Farmers and Ranchers, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Membership, Community Outreach, and Income and Transfer Tax Planning Group
- Dougherty Circuit Bar Association, Member
- Albany Area Young Lawyers Division
- Adjunct Professor at Mercer University School of Law
- Georgia Bar Journal, Editorial Board
Presentations and Publications
- Best Practices and Ethical Issues in Estate Planning, ABA RPTE Paralegal eLearning Program, 2014
- ChemNut, Inc. 2013 Annual Distributor’s Conference, Orlando, Florida, Topic: Business Succession Planning
- Small Business Seminar, Albany, Georgia, Topic: The Affordable Care Act
- Insane in the Membrane, Insane in the Brain”: The Case of Panetti v. Quarterman. 59 MERCER L. REV 991 (2008).
Other Professional and Community Involvement
- Leadership Albany
- Albany Herald 40 under Forty, 2010
- United Way of Southwest Georgia, Past Board Member
- South Georgia Council of Boy Scouts of America, Past Board Member
- Rotary Club of Dougherty County, Past President
- Community Foundation of South Georgia, Past President
Mr. Hooper has extensive experience in most areas of planning needed by businesses, such as the formation, organization, and dissolution of entities. Mr. Hooper regularly advises clients on business succession planning, including the purchase and sale of businesses and professional practices. Mr. Hooper’s expertise also includes income, estate and generation skipping transfer taxation, the creation, modification and termination of trusts, mergers and acquisitions, and transactions involving closely held businesses. He also prepares and files federal estate and gift tax returns.
Mr. Hooper currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, where has taught courses on the Taxation of Pass Through Entities and Federal Income Taxation.
Mr. Hooper is married to Jennifer Lott Hooper from Douglas, Georgia, and they have two children. They reside in Cordele, Georgia.
